Vacuum cleaner

ABSTRACT

A vacuum cleaner, including a cleaner body; and a dust collector provided in the cleaner body, wherein the dust collector includes a first cyclone provided within an outer case to filter foreign matter and dust from air introduced into the dust collector; a second cyclone accommodated within the first cyclone to separate fine dust from the air introduced into the first cyclone; and a screw surrounding part of the first cyclone, and configured to be rotatable in at least one direction with respect to the first cyclone, wherein the screw includes a pillar that spans a height of the mesh filter; and a scraper provided on an inner surface of the pillar facing an outer surface of the mesh filter, and configured to sweep off dust and foreign matter accumulated on the mesh filter during the rotation of the screw.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to KoreanApplication No. 10-2016-0054854, filed on May 3, 2016, whose entiredisclosures are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a vacuum cleaner configured to collectforeign matter, dust and fine dust in a separate manner through amulti-cyclone.

2. Background

A vacuum cleaner uses suction power to filter and collect foreignmatter, e.g., debris, dust, fine dust, ultra fine dust and the likecontained in the sucked air. The types of vacuum cleaners may be dividedinto i) a canister type, ii) an upright type, iii) a hand type, iv) acylindrical floor type, and the like.

The canister type vacuum cleaner includes a suction head and a cleanerbody separated from each other. An upright type vacuum cleaner may havea structure in which a suction head is integrally formed into a cleanerbody. A vacuum cleaner disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open PublicationNo. 10-2003-0081443 (published on Oct. 17, 2003), includes amulti-cyclone structure, each cyclone is vertically provided, whichincreases the height of a dust collector. The dust collector may bedesigned to have a slim profile to solve such a height increase issue,but the slim profile causes reduction in the volume of a space forcollecting dust.

In order to solve the foregoing problem, a second cyclone is disclosedin Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2004-0023417 (published onMar. 18, 2004), which is provided within a first cyclone. However, it isdifficult to efficiently place the second cyclone within the firstcyclone due to interference between the guide passages provided in eachsecond cyclone. Even when the second cyclone is provided within thefirst cyclone, the number of second cyclones may significantly decreaseto reduce suction power, thereby resulting in the deterioration ofcleaning performance.

In addition, a variety of flows including a high-speed rotation flow dueto the suction power of a fan module are mixed within a dust collector.Such a complicated flow may be an obstacle to collect foreign matter ina first storage section, and causes a problem in which dust collected inthe first storage section may be floating and flow back in an upwarddirection.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2004-0023417 (published onMar. 18, 2004), discloses a solution to prevent the scattering offoreign matter stored in the first storage section below the firstcyclone. Further, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No.10-2014-0009551 (published on Jan. 22, 2014), discloses additionalcyclone structures. The above references are incorporated by referenceherein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional oralternative details, features and/or technical background.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a vacuum cleaneraccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a dust collectorillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in which the dust collector illustratedin FIG. 2 is taken along line A-A;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the dust collector illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 illustrates the dust collector of FIG. 2 from a lower side in astate that an outer case thereof is removed;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the dust collector illustrated inFIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a view in which the variance of shapes of foreign matterstored in a first storage section are compared according to whether ornot there exists a roller portion;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a modified example of a guide unit;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the dust collector illustrated inFIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating another example of the dustcollector illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view illustrating an inner side of portion “B”illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating portion “B” illustratedin FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a conceptual view illustrating a modified example of arotatable shell illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is an orthogonal view of the dust collector illustrated in FIG.13;

FIG. 15 is a view explaining a structure in which a driving force of adrive motor is transmitted to a rotatable shell by a driving forcetransmission unit;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the dust collector illustrated inFIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating that an upper cover is separated from adust collector illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 18 is a view in which an inlet side of the upper cover illustratedin FIG. 17 is seen;

FIG. 19 is a view in which an outlet side of the upper cover illustratedin FIG. 17 is seen;

FIG. 20 illustrates a bottom side of the upper cover illustrated in FIG.17;

FIG. 21 is a view illustrating a flow current in the upper coverillustrated in FIG. 17;

FIG. 22 is a view illustrating a modified example of the upper coverillustrated in FIG. 17;

FIG. 23 illustrates an inlet side of the upper cover illustrated in FIG.22;

FIG. 24 illustrates an outlet side of the upper cover illustrated inFIG. 22;

FIG. 25 illustrates a bottom side of the upper cover illustrated in FIG.22; and

FIG. 26 is a view illustrating a flow current in the upper coverillustrated in FIG. 22.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a vacuum cleaner 1 may include a cleaner body 10, asuction unit or head 20, a connection unit or tube 30, a wheel unit (orwheels) 40, and a dust collector 100. The cleaner body 10 may have a fanmodule that generates suction power. The fan module may include asuction motor and a suction fan rotated by the suction motor to generatesuction power.

The suction unit 20 may suck air below or adjacent to the suction unit20. The air sucked by the suction unit 20 may contain foreign matter.The connection unit 30 may be connected to the suction unit 20 and thedust collector 100, respectively, to transfer air containing foreignmatter sucked through the suction unit 20 to the dust collector 100. Theconnection unit 30 may be a flexible hose or pipe.

The wheel unit 40 may be rotatably coupled to the cleaner body 10 tomove or rotate the cleaner body 10. For example, the wheel unit 40 mayinclude main wheels and auxiliary wheels. The main wheels may berespectively provided at both sides of the cleaner body 10, and theauxiliary wheels may support the cleaner body 10 together with the mainwheels and assist the movement of the cleaner body 10 by the mainwheels.

The dust collector 100 may be detachably coupled to the cleaner body 10.The dust collector 100 may separate foreign matter from the sucked air,collect the separated foreign matter and discharge the filtered air.

A vacuum cleaner in the related art has a structure in which aconnection unit is connected to a suction unit formed in the cleanerbody, and the sucked air is introduced into a dust collector through aflow guide extended from the suction unit to the dust collector. Thesucked air is introduced into the dust collector 100 by the suctionpower of the fan module, but there is a problem that suction powerdecreases as the such air passes through the flow guide of the cleanerbody.

On the contrary, the vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment may bedirectly connected to the dust collector 100 as illustrated in thedrawing. According to such a connection structure, air sucked throughthe suction unit 20 may be introduced directly into the dust collector100, and thus suction power may be enhanced as compared to related art.Furthermore, there may be an advantage that the formation of a flowguide within the cleaner body 10 is not required.

For reference, the dust collector 100 applied to a canister type vacuumcleaner 1 is illustrated in the present drawing, but the dust collector100 of the present disclosure may not be necessarily limited to thecanister type vacuum cleaner 1. The dust collector 100 may be alsoapplicable to various vacuum cleaners such as an upright type vacuumcleaner and a robot cleaner.

Hereinafter, various examples of the dust collector 100 having a newstructure will be described around an overall configuration of the dustcollector 100 and a flow in the dust collector 100. Referring to FIGS. 2and 3, external air sucked by suction power generated from the fanmodule of the vacuum cleaner 1 may be introduced into the dust collector100 through an inlet 140 a′ of the dust collector 100. The airintroduced into the dust collector 100 may be sequentially filtered in afirst cyclone 110 and a second cyclone 120 and discharged to an outsideof the dust collector 100 through an outlet 140 b″. Foreign matter,dust, and fine dust separated from air by the first and second cyclones110, 120 may be collected in the dust collector 100.

A cyclone may produce a vortex in air in which particles are floating toseparate the particles from the air by a centrifugal force. The cyclonemay separate foreign matter, dust, and fine dust from the air introducedinto the cleaner body 10 by suction power. In the present specification,a relatively large dust is referred to as a “dust”, a relatively smalldust is referred to as a “fine dust”, and a dust smaller than the “finedust” is referred to as a “ultrafine dust”.

The dust collector 100 may include an outer case 101, the first cyclone110, and the second cyclone 120. The outer case 101 may accommodate thefirst and second cyclones 110, 120 and form a side surface appearance ofthe dust collector 100. The outer case 101 may be formed in acylindrical shape as illustrated in the drawing, but the presentdisclosure may not be necessarily limited thereto.

An upper cover 140 may be mounted on the outer case 101 to cover thefirst and second cyclones 110, 120. The upper cover 140 may include anintake guide 140 a and an exhaust guide 140 b of the dust collector 100,respectively. The intake guide 140 a may extend toward an innercircumference of the outer case 101 in such a manner that the sucked airis tangentially introduced into the outer case 101 and circulates alongan inner circumference of the outer case 101.

The first cyclone 110 may be installed within the outer case 101. Thefirst cyclone 110 may be provided at an upper portion within the outercase 101. The first cyclone 110 may filter foreign matter and dust fromthe air introduced into the outercase 101 and further introduce the airfrom which foreign matter and dust have been filtered into the firstcyclone 110.

The first cyclone 110 may include a housing 111 and a mesh filter 112.The housing 111 may form an outer appearance of the first cyclone 110,and may be formed in a cylindrical shape similar to the outer case 101.The housing 111 may include a support portion 111 a that couples withthe outer case 101 so as to protrude in a radial direction. For example,the support portion or vane 111 a may protrude on an upper portion ofthe housing 111 along an outer circumference thereof, and the supportportion 111 a may be coupled to an upper portion of the outer case 101.

The housing 111 may be vacant thereinside to accommodate the secondcyclone 120. An outer circumference of the housing 111 may be formedwith opening portions communicating with an inside thereof. The openingsmay be formed at a plurality of positions along an outer circumferenceof the housing 111.

The mesh filter 112 may be provided in the housing 111 to cover theopening portions, and have a mesh or porous shape allowing air to passtherethrough. The mesh filter 112 may separate foreign matter and dustfrom air introduced into the housing 111.

A size criterion for distinguishing between dust and fine dust may bedetermined by the mesh filter 112. A small dust passing through the meshfilter 112 may be classified a “fine dust,” and a large dust that isunable to pass through the mesh filter 112 may be classified as a“dust.”

Considering a process of separating foreign matter and dust by the firstcyclone 110 in detail, air containing foreign matter, dust and fine dustmay be introduced into an annular space between the outer case 101 andthe first cyclone 110 through an outlet 140 a″ (refer to FIG. 20) of theintake guide 140 a to be swirled by air in the annular space. During theprocess, relatively heavier foreign matter and dust may gradually flowdownward while the air swirls in a spiral manner in a space between theouter case 101 and the first cyclone 110 by a centrifugal force, and maybe collected in the first storage section (D1) which will be describedlater.

On the other hand, unlike foreign matter and dust, air may be introducedinto the housing 111 through the mesh filter 112 by suction power. Atthis time, fine dust relatively lighter than dust may be introduced intothe housing 111 along with air.

Referring to FIG. 3, an internal structure of the dust collector 100 anda flow of air within the dust collector 100 are seen. The second cyclone120 may be provided in the first cyclone 110 to separate fine dust fromair introduced thereinto through the entrance port 120 a. As illustratedin the drawing, a plurality of second cyclones 120 may be providedtherein. A central axis of the second cyclones 120 may be arranged inparallel to that of the first cyclone 110.

Contrary to a vertical arrangement of the related art in which thesecond cyclone is provided above the first cyclone, the second cyclone120 of the present disclosure may be accommodated into the first cyclone110 to decrease a height of the dust collector 100. The second cyclone120 may not protrude above the first cyclone 110.

In addition, the second cyclone in the related art may have a guidepassage extending from one side thereof such that air and fine dust istangentially introduced thereinto to circulate along an innercircumference of the second cyclone, but the second cyclone 120 of thepresent disclosure may not have such a guide passage. Therefore, thesecond cyclone 120 may have a circular shape when seen from the top.

Referring to FIG. 3, cyclones provided adjacent to each other among thefirst and second cyclones 110, 120 may define a first space S1. In otherwords, in a region where the second cyclone 120 is provided within thefirst cyclone 110, a vacant space excluding the second cyclone 120 maybe understood as a first space (S1). The first space (S1) may form apassage through which air and fine dust introduced into the firstcyclone 110 can be introduced into an upper portion of the secondcyclone 120.

Each of the second cyclones 120 may be provided along a verticaldirection, and a plurality of the second cyclones 120 may be providedparallel to each other. According to such an arrangement, the firstspace (S1) may extend in a vertical direction within the first cyclone110.

The second cyclones 120 may be in contact with each other. Specifically,a (circular) conical casing 121 forming an outer appearance of any oneof the second cyclones 120 may be in contact with a casing 121 of theadjacent second cyclone 120 to form a first space (S1) surrounded by thecasing 121.

The casing 121 of any one of the second cyclones 120 may be integrallyformed with the casing 121 of the adjacent second cyclone 120. Accordingto the above structure, a plurality of second cyclones 120 may bemodularized and provided in the first cyclone 110.

Furthermore, the second cyclones arranged along an inner circumferenceof the first cyclone 110 may be in contact with the innercircumferential surface of the first cyclone 110. Specifically, an innercircumferential surface of the housing 111 adjacent to each other and anouter circumferential surface corresponding to a cylindrical portion ofthe casing 121 may be in contact with each other.

According to the arrangement, the second cyclone 120 may be efficientlyprovided within the first cyclone 110. In particular, the second cyclone120 of the present embodiment may not have a guide passage extendingfrom one side of the second cyclone in the related art, and thus alarger number of second cyclones 120 may be provided within the firstcyclone 110. Accordingly, even if the second cyclone 120 has a structurein which the second cyclone 120 is accommodated into the first cyclone110, a number of the second cyclones 120 may not be decreased comparedto the related art, thereby preventing a deterioration of cleaningperformance.

A cover member (or cover) 130 may be provided at an upper portion of thesecond cyclone 120. The cover member 130 may cover the entrance ports120 a of the second cyclones 120 at preset intervals to form a secondspace (S2) communicating with the first space (S1) between the covermember 130 and the entrance portion 120 a. The second space (S2) mayextend in a horizontal direction on the second cyclone 120, and maycommunicate with the entrance portion 120 a of the second cyclone 120.According to such a communication relationship, air introduced into thefirst cyclone 110 may be introduced into the entrance portion 120 a atan upper portion of the second cyclone 120 through the first space (S1)and the second space (S2).

A vortex finder 122 that discharges air from which fine dust isseparated may be provided at an upper center of the second cyclone 120.Due to such an upper structure, the entrance portion 120 a may bedefined as an annular space between an inner circumference of the secondcyclone 120 and an outer circumference of the vortex finder 122.

The entrance portion 120 a of the second cyclone 120 may include a guidevane 123 spirally extended along an inner circumference thereof. Theguide vane 123 may be provided on an outer circumference of the vortexfinder 122 or integrally formed with the vortex finder 122. The guidevane 123 may generate rotational flow in air flowing into the secondcyclone 120 through the entrance portion 120 a.

Considering the flow of air and fine dust introduced into the entranceportion 120 a in detail, fine dust may gradually flow downward whilespirally circulating along an inner circumference of the second cyclone120, and may be finally discharged through the discharge port 120 b andcollected into the second storage section (D2). Furthermore, airrelatively lighter than fine dust may be discharged to the vortex finder122 at an upper portion thereof by the suction power of the fan module.

According to the above structure, contrary to the related art in which ahigh-speed rotation flow is generated in a biased manner to one regionby a guide passage extended from one side of the second cyclone, arelatively uniform rotation flow may be generated over almost an entireregion of the entrance portion 120 a. Accordingly, a localizedhigh-speed flow not occur compared to a second cyclone structure in therelated art, thereby reducing flow loss due to this.

A plurality of guide vanes 123 may be provided therein, and may bespaced apart from each other at regular intervals along an outercircumference of the vortex finder 122. Each guide vane 123 may startfrom the same position at an upper portion of the vortex finder 122 andextend to the same position at a lower portion thereof.

For an example, four guide vanes 123 may be respectively provided at 90°intervals along an outer circumference of the vortex finder 122. Alarger or smaller number of guide vanes 123 may be of course provideddepending on a design change, and at least part of any one of the guidevanes 123 may overlap with another guide vane 123 in a verticaldirection of the vortex finder 122.

Furthermore, the guide vane 123 may be provided within the first cyclone110. According to such an arrangement, a flow within the second cyclone120 may occur within the first cyclone 110. As a result, it may bepossible to reduce noise due to the flow within the second cyclone 120.

A lower diameter of the vortex finder 122 may be smaller than an upperdiameter thereof. According to such a configuration, an area of theentrance port 120 a may be decreased to increase an inflow speed intothe second cyclone 120, thereby limiting fine dust introduced into thesecond cyclone 120 from being discharged through the vortex finder 122along with the air.

According to FIG. 3, a tapered portion 122 a, a diameter of whichgradually decreases as it goes toward an end portion thereof, may beformed at a lower portion of the vortex finder 122. On the contrary, thevortex finder 122 may be formed in such a manner that a diameter thereofgradually decreases from an upper portion to a lower portion thereof.

On the other hand, a communication hole 130 a corresponding to thevortex finder 122 may be formed on the cover member 130. The covermember 130 may cover an inner space of the first cyclone 110 excludingthe vortex finder 122. Though not shown in the drawing, the cover member130 may include a protruding portion inserted into the vortex finder 122and formed with a communication hole 130 a therein.

An upper cover 140 may be provided on the cover member 130. The uppercover 140 may form an upper appearance of the dust collector 100. Theupper cover 140 may include an intake guide 140 a that introduces airsucked from the outside into the dust collector 100 and an exhaust guide140 b that discharges air discharged through a communication hole 130 ato an outside of the dust collector 100. An inlet 140 a′ and an outlet140 b″ may be respectively formed on the upper cover 140 for the inflowand outflow of air. According to the present drawing, the inlet 140 a′may face forward, and the outlet 140 b″ may face backward.

Air discharged through the outlet 140 b″ of the dust collector 100 maybe discharged to the outside through an exhaust port of the cleaner body10. A porous prefilter configured to filter ultrafine dust from the airmay be installed on a passage extended from the outlet of the dustcollector 100 to the exhaust port of the cleaner body 10.

On the other hand, the discharge port 120 b of the second cyclone 120may pass through a bottom surface 111 b of the first cyclone 110. Athrough hole for the insertion of the second cyclone 120 may be formedon the bottom surface 111 b of the first cyclone 110.

A lower portion of the first cyclone 110 may include an inner case 150to accommodate the discharge port 120 b to form a second storage section(D2) that collects fine dust discharged through the discharge port 120b. The second storage section (D2) may be also referred to as a finedust storage section in terms of forming a storage space for fine dust.A lower cover 160, which will be described later, may form a bottomsurface of the second storage section (D2).

The inner case 150 may cover a bottom surface 111 b of the first cyclone110, and may accommodate the discharge port 120 b of the second cyclone120 therein. The inner case 150 may extend toward a lower portion of theouter case 101. The inner case 150 may have a bowl shape provided with atapered portion having a narrower cross-sectional area at a lower endthan an upper end thereof and a gradually reduced cross-sectional areaas it goes downward.

The inner case 150 may be coupled to the housing 111 of the firstcyclone 110 by a fastening device (e.g., bolt, hook, adhesive, etc.).Alternatively, the inner case 150 may be integrally formed with thehousing 111.

On the other hand, foreign matter and dust filtered through the firstcyclone 110 may be collected into the first storage section (D1) locatedbelow the first cyclone 110. The first storage section (D1) may be alsoreferred to as a foreign-matter-dust storage section in terms of forminga space to store foreign matter and dust.

In the present drawing, the first storage section (D1) defined by theouter case 101 and a pressurizing unit (or compactor) 170 may surroundthe second storage section (D2). A bottom surface of the first storagesection (D1) may be formed by the lower cover 160 which will bedescribed later. Various flows (for example, an upward flow due to therotation of the pressurizing portion (or blade) 172 provided in thepressurizing unit 170) including a high-speed rotational flow due to thesuction power of the fan module are mixed within the dust collector 100.

Such complicated flows may also be a hindrance to the inflow of foreignmatter and dust into the first storage section (D1). Furthermore, evenif dust is collected in the first storage section (D1), dust may floatwithin the first storage section (D1) due to vortex or the like. Due toa structure in which an annual space between the outer case 101 and thefirst cyclone 110 should be communicated with a space between the outercase 101 and the first storage section (D1) to collect foreign matterand dust, a case may occur where dust floating in the first storagesection (D1) flows backward into the annular space according tocircumstances. This may deteriorate the cleaning performance of thevacuum cleaner 1 as well as dust collecting performance.

Hereinafter, a structure capable of guiding the inflow of foreign matterand dust filtered by the first cyclone 110 into the first storagesection (D1) and preventing dust collected in the first storage section(D1) from flowing backward will be described. A guide unit or screw 180may be provided at a lower side of the first cyclone 110. The guide unit180 may guide the inflow of foreign matter and dust filtered by thefirst cyclone 110 into the first storage section (D1) and prevent dustcollected in the first storage section (D1) from being moved (i.e.,flowing backward) to the first cyclone 110. The guide unit 180 mayinclude a base 181 and a vane 182. The base 181 and the vane 182 may beintegrally formed by injection molding.

The base 181 may be formed in a cylindrical shape similar to the housing111. An outer circumferential surface of the base 181 may be parallel toan axial direction of the outer case 101. The vane 182 may protrude froman outer circumference of the base 181 toward an inner circumferentialsurface of the outer case 101 and spirally extend from an upper sidethereof toward a lower side thereof. The vane 182 may be spirallyextended along a flow direction of air introduced into the dustcollector 100 and circulated along an inner circumference of the outercase 101.

In order to implement this, the vane 182 may be inclined in a directioncorresponding to a side of the outlet 140 a″ of the intake guide 140 aprovided in the upper cover 140, which will be described later. Here,the corresponding direction denotes that when the side of the outlet 140a″ of the intake guide 140 a has a negative slope, the vane 182 has anegative slope.

When the vane 182 is formed to have such a directionality, foreignmatter and dust contained in air, which spirally circulates andgradually flows down in an annular space between the outer case 101 andthe first cyclone 110, may be naturally introduced into the firststorage section (D1) at a lower side of the guide unit 180 along thevane 182. In other words, the vane 182 may guide the inflow of foreignmatter and dust into the first storage section (D1).

The air introduced into the guide unit 180 may spirally circulate alongthe vane 182 and gradually flow downward. Due to this flow, dustintroduced into the vane 182 or dust collected in the first storagesection (D1) may not flow backward to a side of the first cyclone 110due to the flow.

The vane 182 may protrude from an outer circumferential surface of thefirst cyclone 110 and may be provided adjacent to an innercircumferential surface of the outer case 101. Due to this arrangement,a space provided at an upper side of the guide unit 180 (an annularspace between the outer case 101 and the first cyclone 110) may bepartitioned from a space provided at a lower side of the guide unit 180(the first storage section (D1)).

A plurality of vanes 182 may be spaced apart from each other at regularintervals along an outer circumference of the guide unit 180. Each vane182 may start from the same position at an upper portion of the guideunit 180, and extend to the same position at a lower portion thereof.According to this, a substantially uniform rotational flow may begenerated over an entire region of the annular space between the outercase 101 and the guide unit 180. Accordingly, it may be possible toreduce flow loss.

Any one vane 182 of the plurality of vanes 182 may be arranged in such amanner that at least part of the vane 182 overlaps with another vane 182in a vertical direction of the guide unit 180. According to the abovestructure, even if a vertical flow toward the first cyclone 110 isinstantaneously formed in the vane 182 or the first storage section(D1), it may be blocked by the overwrapping vane 182 at an upper side,thereby restricting an inflow to a side of the first cyclone 110.

Of course, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. A lower end ofone vane 182 of the plurality of vanes 182 may be formed apart from anupper end of another guide vane 182 along an outer circumference of theguide unit 180. In other words, they may not overlap with each other ina vertical direction of the guide unit 180.

Referring to FIG. 3, both the first storage section (D1) and the secondstorage section (D2) may open toward a lower side of the outer case 101.A lower cover 160 may be coupled to the outer case 101 to cover theopening portions of the first storage section (D1) and the secondstorage section (D2), and configured to form a bottom surface of thefirst storage section (D1) and the second storage section (D2).

As described above, the lower cover 160 may be coupled to the outer case101 to open and close a lower portion thereof. According to the presentembodiment, the lower cover 160 may be coupled to to the outer case 101through a hinge 161 to open and close a lower portion of the outer case101 according to the rotation. However, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto, and the lower cover 160 may be completely detachablycoupled to the outer case 101.

The lower cover 160 may be coupled to the outer case 101 to form abottom surface of the first storage section (D1) and the second storagesection (D2). The lower cover 160 may be rotated by the hinge 161 tosimultaneously discharge dust and fine dust to simultaneously open thefirst storage section (D1) and the second storage section (D2). When thelower cover 160 is rotated by the hinge 161 to open the first storagesection (D1) and the second storage section at the same time, it may bepossible to discharge dust and fine dust at the same time.

On the other hand, when dust accumulated in the first storage section(D1) is not collected in one place but dispersed, dust may be scatteredor discharged to an unintended place during the process of dischargingthe dust. In order to overcome such a problem, the present embodiment ismade to reduce a volume of dust by pressurizing the dust collected inthe first storage section (D1) using the pressurizing unit 170.

The pressurizing unit 170 may be rotatable in both directions in thefirst storage section D1. The pressurizing unit 170 may include arotating portion or shaft 171 and a pressurizing portion or blade 172.The rotating portion 171 may surround at least part of the inner case150 and may receive a driving force from a drive unit or drive 50 (referto FIG. 16) of the cleaner body 10 through a driving force transmissionunit or transmission 163 to be relatively rotatable with respect to theinner case 150. The rotating portion 171 may be rotatable in a clockwiseor counter-clockwise direction, or both directions.

An inner shape of the rotating portion 171 surrounding the inner case150 may correspond to an outer shape of the inner case 150. According tothe above structure, when the pressurizing unit 170 is rotated, theinner case 150 may hold the center of rotation. Accordingly, therotation of the pressurizing unit 170 may be more stably carried outwithout a separate member to hold the center of rotation of the rotatingportion 171.

The rotating portion 171 may be rotatable when engaged with the innercase 150. To this end, an engaging portion configured to support therotating portion 171 with respect to a gravity direction may be formedon an outer circumference of the inner case 150. The engaging portionmay be formed in various forms such as a projection, a hook, or thelike.

According to the above structure, the rotating portion 171 may beengaged with the inner case 150, and then even if the lower cover 160 isrotated by the hinge 161 to open the first storage section (D1), thepressurizing unit 170 may be fixed in place. A fastening groove 171 b tocouple with a fastening member 163 b of the driving force transmissionunit 163, which will be described later, may be formed on a lower innercircumference of the rotating portion 171.

The pressurizing portion 172 may protrude in a radial direction from therotating portion 171, and may rotate within the first storage section(D1) in accordance with the rotation of the rotating portion 171. Thepressurizing portion 172 may be formed in a plate shape. Dust collectedin the first storage section (D1) may be moved to one side of the firststorage section (D1) by the rotation of the pressurizing portion 172 andcollected therein, and when a lot of dust may be accumulated, the dustis pressurized and compressed by the pressurizing portion 172.

The pressurizing portion 172 may include a ventilation hole 172 a forcommunicating air. The ventilation hole 172 a may be formed on thepressurizing portion 172, and even if the pressurizing portion 172rotates in the first storage section (D1), a pressure balance betweenboth side regions of the pressurizing portion 172 divided by thepressurizing portion 172 may be adjusted, thereby suppressing an upwardflow due to the rotation of the pressurizing portion 172.

An inner wall 101 b that collects dust moved to one side by the rotationof the pressurizing portion 172 may be provided in the first storagesection (D1). In the present embodiment, it is shown that the inner wall101 b may extend in a radial direction from a lower inner circumferenceof the outer case 101. Dust introduced into the first storage section(D1) may be collected on both sides of the inner wall 101 b by therotation of the pressurizing portion 172.

The lower cover 160 may include the driving force transmission unit 163connected to the drive unit 50 provided on the cleaner body 10 when thedust collector 100 is mounted on the cleaner body 10, and connected tothe pressurizing unit 170 when the lower cover 160 is mounted to cover alower opening of the outer case 101. The drive unit 50 may include adrive motor 51 and a drive gear 52 connected to the drive motor 51 to berotatable. At least part of the drive gear 52 may be exposed from thecleaner body 10 in such a manner that the drive gear 52 is configured tocouple with a driven gear 163 a of the driving force transmission unit163, which will be described later, when the dust collector 100 ismounted on the cleaner body 10.

The driving force transmission unit 163 may be rotated by receiving adriving force from the drive unit 50 provided in the cleaner body 10,and may include a driven gear 163 a and a fastening member (or fasteninggear) 163 b. The driven gear 163 a may be exposed to a lower portion ofthe lower cover 160 and configured to be rotatable with respect to thelower cover 160. The driven gear 163 a may couple with the drive gear 52to receive a driving force of the drive motor 51 when the dust collector100 is coupled to the cleaner body 10.

The fastening member 163 b may be engaged with the driven gear 163 a tobe rotatable along with the driven gear 163 a. The fastening member 163b may be exposed to an upper portion of the lower cover 160 and fastenedto the fastening groove 171 b provided on an inner circumference of therotating portion 171 when the lower cover 160 is coupled to the outercase 101. The fastening member 163 b may have a gear shape in which aplurality of fastening grooves 171 b are provided to be spaced apartfrom each other at regular intervals on an inner circumference of therotating portion 171, and the fastening member 163 b may include aplurality of protrusion portions inserted into the fastening grooves 171b. Considering such a shape, the fastening member 163 b may be referredto as a fastening gear.

A sealing unit (or seal) 164 may be mounted on the fastening member 163b. The sealing unit 164 may cover a lower opening of the inner case 150when the lower cover 160 is coupled to the outer case 101. In otherwords, the sealing unit 164 may form a bottom surface of the secondstorage section (D2), thereby preventing the collected fine dust frombeing introduced into a side of the driving force transmission unit 163.

The sealing unit 164 may be configured not to rotate during the rotationof the driving force transmission unit 163. In other words, even if thedriving force transmission unit 163 is rotated, the sealing unit 164 maybe fixed to cover a lower opening of the inner case 150. A portion ofthe sealing unit 164 in contact with the lower opening of the inner case150 may be formed of an elastic material to seal.

According to the above structure, when the lower cover 160 is coupled tothe outer case 101, the driving force transmission unit 163 may beconnected to the pressurizing unit 170 of the dust collector 100, andwhen the dust collector 100 is connected to the cleaner body 10, thedriving force transmission unit 163 may be connected to the drive unit50 of the cleaner body 10. In other words, a driving force generatedfrom the drive unit 50 may be transmitted to the pressurizing unit 170through the driving force transmission unit 163.

At this time, the rotation of the drive motor 51 may repeatedly performa bidirectional rotation of the pressurizing portion 172. For example,the drive motor 51 may rotate in an opposite direction when a repulsiveforce is applied in a direction opposite to the rotational direction. Inother words, when the pressurizing portion 172 rotates in one directionto compress dust collected in one side at a predetermined level, thedrive motor 51 may rotate in the other direction to compress the dustcollected in the other side.

When there is (almost) no dust, the pressurizing portion 172 may collidewith the inner wall 101 b to receive a corresponding repulsive force orreceive a repulsive force by a stopper structure provided on a rotatingpath of the pressurizing portion 172 to rotate in an opposite direction.On the contrary, the controller within the cleaner body 10 may apply acontrol signal to the drive motor to change a rotational direction ofthe pressurizing portion 172 at regular intervals, thereby repeatedlygenerating the bidirectional rotation of the pressurizing portion 172.

By the pressurizing unit 170, dust collected in the first storagesection (D1) may be gathered or compressed in a predetermined region.Therefore, it may be possible to suppress the scattering of dust duringthe process of throwing away dust, and remarkably reduce a possibilityof being discharged to an unintended place.

Hereinafter, a structure in which the guide unit 180 is connected to thepressurizing unit 170 to be rotatable will be described. Referring toFIGS. 4 through 6 along with the previous drawings, the guide unit 180may be connected to the pressurizing unit 170 and configured to berotatable in at least one direction along with the pressurizing unit170. In terms of configuring the guide unit 180 to be rotatable, theguide unit 180 may also be referred to as a rotating unit.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the guide unit 180 rotates in acounter-clockwise direction (to the right) corresponding to an extensiondirection in a lower side of the vane 182, foreign matter and dust inair introduced into the vane 182 may be moved downward by the rotationof the vane 182. Accordingly, the foreign matter and dust that have beenintroduced into the vane 182 may be more easily collected into the firststorage section (D1). Furthermore, even if the foreign matter collectedin the first storage section (D1) is introduced into the vane 182, itmay be pushed back by the rotation of the vane 182. Considering that aflow spirally circulating and gradually flowing downward is generated onthe vane 182, the backflow of foreign matter and dust may be even moredifficult.

On the contrary, when the guide unit 180 rotates in a clockwisedirection (to the left) corresponding to an extending direction in anupper side of the vane 182, foreign matter and dust in air introducedinto the vane 182 may be moved upward by the rotation of the vane 182.However, since a flow spirally circulating and gradually flowingdownward is generated on the vane 182, it may be difficult for such amovement and a resultant backflow of foreign matter and dust to occur.

However, when the guide unit 180 rotates in a direction corresponding toan extending direction at an upper side of the vane 182, the followingstructure may be added in consideration of the possibility of a backflowof foreign matter. As illustrated in the drawing, a backflow limitingrib 101 a inclined in a direction intersecting the vane 182 may protrudefrom an inner circumferential surface of the outer case 101 facing thevane 182. A plurality of backflow limiting ribs 101 a may be providedspaced apart at preset intervals along an inner circumferential surfaceof the outer case 101.

The backflow limiting rib 101 a may be integrally formed with the outercase 101 by injection molding. However, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. The backflow limiting rib 101 a may be formed as aseparate member from the outer case 101, and attached to an innercircumferential surface of the outer case 101.

Due to the formation of the backflow limiting rib 101 a, foreign matterflowing backward from the first storage section (D1) into the vane 182may be caught by the backflow limiting rib even if the foreign matter ismoved upward by the rotation of the vane 182. Accordingly, foreignmatter may not completely flow backward to an upper side of the guideunit 180, to be collected again into the first storage section (D1).

When either one of the vane 182 and the backflow limiting rib 101 a hasa positive slope with respect to a rotating shaft of the guide unit 180,the other one may have a negative slope. In FIG. 4, it is shown in thedrawing that the vane 182 has a negative slope, and the backflowlimiting rib 101 a is formed to have a positive slope. According to theabove structure, the guide unit 180 may rotate in a clockwise direction(to the left) corresponding to the extending direction of the vane 182,so that the foreign object in the first storage section (D1) rides onthe vane 182 Even if it rises, it may be continuously caught in thebackflow limiting rib 101 a to drop.

Of course, the inclination relationship of the vane 182 and the backflowlimiting rib 101 a is not limited to the above example. The backflowlimiting rib 101 a may be provided in parallel to a rotating shaft ofthe guide unit 180. In other words, the backflow limiting rib 101 a maybe provided perpendicular to the lower cover 160. Alternatively, thebackflow limiting rib 101 a may be inclined along a flow direction ofair introduced into the outer case 101 similarly to the vane 182.

On the other hand, the rotation of the guide unit 180 may be carried outby coupling the guide unit 180 to the pressurizing unit 170. In otherwords, as described above, the pressurizing unit 170 may be rotated byreceiving a driving force from the drive unit 50 through the drivingforce transmission unit 163, and thus the guide unit 180 coupled to thepressurizing unit 170 may also be rotated at the same time during therotation of the pressurizing unit 170.

Specifically, the base 181 of the guide unit 180 may be coupled to therotating portion 171 of the pressurizing unit 170. The coupling betweenthe base 181 and the rotating portion 171 may be achieved by variousmethods such as coupling due to bonding, coupling using a hook member,and a coupling using a hook structure.

As illustrated in part (a) of FIG. 7, as foreign matter and dust (D)collected in the first storage section (D1) accumulate, they maygradually become closer to a side of the first cyclone 110. Inparticular, in the case of a bulky foreign matter, even if it iscollected in the first storage section (D1), it may be spread in thefirst storage section (D1) without having an aggregated shape, therebycausing a backflow in an upward direction at a side where the foreignmatter and dust (D) accumulate.

In order to solve such a problem, as illustrated in part (b) of FIG. 7,a roller portion (or roller) 171 a including a plurality of ribsextended in a radial direction at preset intervals may be provided on atleast one of the guide unit 180 and the pressurizing unit 170 to face alower side of the outer case 101. The roller portion 171 a may provide arotational force to foreign matter and dust collected in the firststorage section (D1) during the rotation of at least one of the guideunit 180 and the pressurizing unit 170.

In an embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 6 including part (b) ofFIG. 7, a plurality of ribs constituting the roller portion 171 a mayrespectively extend in a radial direction at preset intervals to therotating portion 171 facing the lower cover 160. According to theconfiguration, an upper portion of the foreign matter and dust (D)collected in the first storage section (D1) may repeatedly collide withthe plurality of ribs during the rotation of the rotating portion 171.As a result, the foreign matter and dust (D) may be rotated asillustrated in FIG. 7B, and finally the collected foreign matter anddust (D) may be rolled in a state of being agglomerated in asubstantially spherical shape.

As described above, the foreign matter and dust (D) may be agglomeratedin a spherical shape by the roller portion 171 a, and thus it may bepossible to prevent a backflow due to the accumulation of the foreignmatter and dust (D) at a predetermined level. When the pressurizingportion 172 is additionally combined with the roller portion 171 a, theagglomeration and compression of the foreign matter and dust (D) may becarried out at the same time to enhance the collection performance ofthe foreign matter and dust (D), thereby significantly reducing thepossibility of backflow.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the guide unit or screw 280 may have a skirt283 extended downward from an upper portion thereof in an inclineddownward direction. A gap between the skirt 283 and the outer case 201may gradually decrease as it goes from the upper portion to the lowerportion.

As the skirt 283 is formed, foreign matter and dust falling withoutpassing through a mesh filter 212 of the first cyclone 210 may be guidedby the skirt 283 and introduced into the first storage section (D1), butthe foreign matter and dust collected in the first storage section (D1)may be restricted from flowing upward by the skirt 283. In other words,a backflow of foreign matter and dust collected in the first storagesection (D1) may be restricted by the skirt 283.

Considering a structure in which the skirt 283 is provided in the guideunit 280 in more detail, the guide unit 280 may include a base 281, theskirt 283, and a vane 282. The base 281, the skirt 283, and the vane 282may be integrally formed by injection molding. The base 281 may becoupled to a rotating portion 271 of the pressurizing unit 270. The base281 may be formed in parallel to an axial direction of the outer case201.

The skirt 283 may extend downward in an inclined manner outward from anupper portion of the base 281. Accordingly, a gap between the skirt 283and the base 281 may gradually increase as it goes from the upperportion to the lower portion. Though not shown in the drawing, aplurality of ribs forming the foregoing roller portion may extend in aradial direction in the gap between the base 281 and the skirt 283.

The vane 282 may protrude from the skirt 283 toward an innercircumferential surface of the outer case 201, and spirally extend fromthe upper side toward the lower side. The vane 282 may be introducedinto the dust collector 200 and may spirally extend along a flowdirection of air circulating along an inner circumference of the outercase 201.

According to the drawing, the base 281 and the skirt 283 may bedistinguished from each other in shape. However, the present disclosureis not limited thereto. As a modified example, the base 281 and theskirt 283 may be configured as one portion in which the base 281 and theskirt 283 are not separated from each other (a gap between the base 281and the skirt may be filled), and it may be referred to as a skirtportion. An inner side of the skirt portion may be coupled to therotating portion 271, and an outer side thereof may be inclineddownward.

On the other hand, most of the foreign matter or dust that has notpassed through the first cyclone 110 may fall down and be collected inthe first storage section (D1), but according to circumstances, foreignmatter or dust may be caught or accumulated and fixed on the mesh filter112. It may reduce an area of the mesh filter 112 allowing air to passtherethrough, thereby increasing a load on the fan module that providessuction power as well as visually giving a non-clean impression to theuser.

In order to solve this problem, a method of disassembling and cleaningthe dust collector may be taken into consideration, but it may causeusage inconveniences to the user. There may also be a problem thatcleaning is not easy, in fact, due to a structure in which a portionwhere the first cyclone is provided is partitioned from the firststorage section (for example, partitioned by the vane 182 of the guideunit 180 or a skirt which will be described later).

Hereinafter, a structure capable of continuously removing foreign matterand dust from being caught or accumulated on the mesh filter 112 duringthe operation of the vacuum cleaner 1 will be described. Referring toFIGS. 10 through 12, a rotating unit or screw 380 may be coupled to thepressurizing unit 370 to rotate along with the pressurizing unit 370. Asillustrated in the drawing, the rotating unit 380 may surround at leastpart of the first cyclone 310, and may be relatively rotatable withrespect to the first cyclone 310 in at least one direction.

The rotating unit 380 may scratch or sweep off foreign matter and dustcaught or accumulated on the mesh filter 312 of the first cyclone 310during rotation. In order to implement this, the rotating unit 380 mayinclude a lower frame 381, an upper frame 385, and a pillar 383. Thelower frame 381 may be coupled to the rotating portion 371 of thepressurizing unit 370, and formed in a cylindrical shape at a lowerportion or lower side of the first cyclone 310. For example, a lowerframe 381 may surround a lower end of the first cyclone 310.

In the present embodiment, the lower frame 381 may be similar to thebase 181 of the guide unit 180 described above. The lower frame 381 maybe formed in parallel to an axial direction of the outer case 301. Thevane 382 may protrude from the lower frame 381 toward the innercircumferential surface of the outer case 301. The vane 382 may spirallyextend from the upper side toward the lower side. The vane 382 may beintroduced into the dust collector 300 and extend in a spiral shapealong a flow direction of air circulating along an inner circumferenceof the outer case 301.

The upper frame 385 may be spaced upward from the lower frame 381 by apredetermined distance and formed to surround an upper end of the firstcyclone 310. The pillar 383 may cover the mesh filter 312 and extendalong a vertical direction of the mesh filter 312 and connect to thelower frame 381 and the upper frame 385, respectively. In other words,the lower frame 381 may be connected to a lower end of the pillar 383,and the upper frame 385 may be connected to an upper end of the pillar383 so as to surround part of the first cyclone 310 as a whole.

A plurality of pillars 383 may be provided therein, and provided atpreset intervals along an outer circumference of the first cyclone 310.As a result, an opening may be formed between adjacent two pillars 383,and the mesh filter 312 may be exposed through the opening. Accordingly,air spirally flowing through an annular space between the outer case 301and the first cyclone 310 may pass through the mesh filter 312 exposedthrough the opening and flow into the first cyclone 310.

When the pressurizing unit 370 receives a driving force of the driveunit 50 from the driving force transmission unit 363 to rotate, therotating unit 380 connected to the pressurizing unit 370 may be rotatedalong with the pillar 383, and at this time, the pillar 383 moves alongan outer circumference of the mesh filter 312. A scraper 384 may beprovided on an inner surface of the pillar 383 facing an outer surfaceof the mesh filter 312. The scraper 384 may have a shape extended alonga length direction of the pillar 383, and may cross the mesh filter 312in a vertical direction on the mesh filter 312.

The scraper 384 may scrape off or sweep up foreign matter and dustaccumulated on the mesh filter 312 during the rotation of the rotatingunit 380. To this end, the scrapers 384 may be in contact with the meshfilter 312. The scraper 384 may be configured as a brush, formed of anelastic material, or formed of a synthetic resin material similar to thepillar 383.

When the scraper 384 is configured as a brush, the brush may be insertedinto a gap of the mesh filter 312 to effectively remove foreign matteror dust accumulated on the gap. When the scraper 384 is configured as abrush, the scraper 384 may be inserted into a slot formed along anextension direction of the pillar 383 and fixed to the pillar 383.

The scraper 384 may be formed of an elastic material (e.g., rubber,silicone, etc.), and integrally coupled to the pillar 383 by doubleinjection molding. When the scraper 384 is formed of an elasticmaterial, the scraper 384 may be brought into close contact with themesh filter 312 to effectively sweep off foreign matter accumulated onthe mesh filter 312.

The scraper 384 may be formed of the same synthetic resin material asthe pillar 383 and integrally formed with the pillar 383 by injectionmolding. The scraper 384 may protrude along an extension direction ofthe pillar 383. In this case, the rotating unit 380 having a singlematerial provided with the scraper 384 may be manufactured through oneinjection molding. On the other hand, the backflow limiting rib 101 adescribed in conjunction with the embodiment of FIGS. 2 through 7 andthe modified example of FIG. 8 may be combined with the vane 382 of thepresent embodiment.

Describing it in brief, the backflow limiting rib 101 a inclined in adirection intersecting the vane 382 may protrude on an innercircumferential surface of the outer case 301 facing the vane 382. Aplurality of backflow limiting ribs 101 a may be spaced apart at presetintervals along an inner circumferential surface of the outer case 301.

Due to the formation of the backflow limiting rib 101 a, foreign matterflowing backward from the first storage section (D1) into the vane 182may be caught by the backflow limiting rib even if the foreign matter ismoved upward by the rotation of the vane 182. Accordingly, foreignmatter may not completely flow backward to an upper side of the guideunit 180, and may be collected again into the first storage section(D1).

Hereinafter, a modified example of the rotating unit 480 will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 13 through 16. Referring to FIGS. 13through 16, the rotating unit 480 may include a lower frame 481, anupper frame 485, a pillar 483, a scraper 484, and a skirt 486. Themodified example may have the same structure as the rotating unit 480described in the previous embodiment excluding the skirt 486 and aroller portion (or roller) 481 a. As a result, the redundant descriptionthereof will be omitted.

The skirt 486 extended outward in an inclined downward direction mayprotrude on the lower frame 481. Accordingly, a gap between the skirt486 and the lower frame 481 may gradually increase as it goes from theupper portion to the lower portion.

As the skirt 486 is formed, foreign matter and dust falling withoutpassing through a mesh filter 412 of the first cyclone 410 may be guidedby the skirt 486 and introduced into the first storage section (D1), butthe foreign matter and dust collected in the first storage section (D1)may be restricted from flowing upward by the skirt 486. In other words,a backflow of foreign matter and dust collected in the first storagesection (D1) may be restricted by the skirt 486.

However, since the gap between the outer case 401 and the skirt 486decreases toward the lower side, it may cause a problem in which foreignmatter may be caught in the gap when a size of the foreign matter islarge. This may prevent other foreign matter and dust from flowing intothe first storage section (D1) through the gap.

However, in the present modified example, the rotating unit 480 may becoupled with the pressurizing unit 470, and may be rotatable along withthe pressurizing unit 470, and thus even if foreign matter is caught ina gap between the skirt 486 and the outer case 401, the foreign mattermay be released by the rotation of the rotating unit 480. The foreignmatter released from the gap may be introduced into the first storagesection (D1) by rotational flow due to the driving of the vacuum cleaner1.

On the other hand, roller portions 481 a, 471 a configured as aplurality of ribs extended in a radial direction at preset intervals maybe provided on at least one of the rotating unit 480 and thepressurizing unit 470. On the present drawing, a first roller portion481 a and a second roller portion 471 a may be provided in the rotatingunit 480 and the pressurizing unit 470, respectively.

Describing the first roller portion 481 a first, a plurality of ribsforming the first roller portion 481 a may be formed in a gap betweenthe lower frame 481 and the skirt 486 in a radial direction. Theplurality of ribs may face a lower cover thereof. A plurality of ribsconstituting the second roller portion 471 a may extend in a radialdirection at preset intervals on the rotating portion 471 facing thelower cover. As the rotating unit 480 may surround at least part of thepressurizing unit 470, the first roller portion 481 a may surround thesecond roller portion 471 a.

According to the above configuration, an upper portion of foreign matterand dust collected in the first storage section (D1) during the rotationof the pressurizing unit 470 and the rotating unit 480 coupled theretomay collide repeatedly with the plurality of ribs constituting the firstand second roller portions 481 a, 471 a. As a result, the foreign matterand dust may be rotated, and finally the collected foreign matter anddust may be rolled in a state of being agglomerated in a substantiallyspherical shape.

The first and second roller portions 481 a, 471 a may have differentheights with respect to the lower cover 460. In the present embodiment,the first roller portion 481 a may be located above the second rollerportion 471 a. According to the above structure, the first or secondrolls 481 a, 471 a corresponding to an accumulation height of foreignobjects and dust may be suitably used to agglomerate the foreign matterand dust in a spherical shape. In other words, the first roller portion481 a may be used to agglomerate foreign matter and dust having arelatively larger volume than the second roller portion 471 a into aspherical shape.

However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The first andsecond roller portions 481 a, 471 a may have the same height withrespect to the lower cover 460. In this case, a plurality of ribsconstituting the first roller portion 481 a and a plurality of ribsconstituting the second roller portion 471 a may cross each other alonga rotational direction.

As illustrated above in FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner 1 may be configuredin such a manner that air including foreign matter, dust, fine dust, andultrafine dust, which are sucked through the suction unit 20, isdirectly introduced into the dust collector 100 without passing throughthe cleaner body 10. To this end, an upper cover 140 of the dustcollector 100 may include an inlet and an outlet to introduce anddischarge air, respectively, and the inlet may be directly connected tothe connection unit 30 connected to the suction unit 20.

Hereinafter, the upper cover 140 having both an inlet and an outlet willbe described in more detail. Referring to FIGS. 17 through 21 along withFIGS. 1 through 3, the upper cover 140 may be mounted on an upper sideof the outer case 101 to cover the cover member 130. Accordingly, theupper cover 140 may cover both the first and second cyclones 110, 120.The upper cover 140 may form an upper appearance of the dust collector100.

The upper cover 140 may include an intake guide 140 a and an exhaustguide 140 b which form passages separated from each other. The intakeguide 140 a may form a passage to introduce air into the outer case 101,and the exhaust guide 140 b may form a passage to discharge air fromwhich foreign matter, dust and fine dust have been separated whilepassing through the first and second cyclones 110, 120.

The intake guide 140 a and the exhaust guide 140 b may have an inlet 140a′, 140 b′ and an outlet 140 a″, 140 b″, respectively. According to thepresent drawing, the inlet 140 a′ of the intake guide 140 a may be openin a direction opposite to the outlet 140 b″ of the exhaust guide 140 b.

The connection unit 30 connected to the suction unit 20 suck aircontaining foreign matter, dust and fine dust may be directly connectedto the inlet of the intake guide 140 a. The outlet of the intake guide140 a may be formed on a bottom surface of the upper cover 140 tocommunicate with an annular space between the outer case 101 and thefirst cyclone 110. At least part of the intake guide 140 a may be bentand extended toward an inner circumference of the outer case 101 in sucha manner that air introduced through the inlet 140 a′ performs aswirling movement in a spiral shape when flowing into the annular space.

In the present embodiment, the intake guide 140 a may be formed as asingle passage. In other words, the intake guide 140 a may include oneinlet 140 a′ and one outlet 140 a″. As a result, when compared with amodified example which will be described later, a cross-sectional areaof the intake guide 140 a may be increased to further reduce aphenomenon in which a large foreign matter is caught thereinside, andsolve a problem of interference between structures and electroniccomponents adjacent to the upper cover 140 at a predetermined level dueto the simplification of the structure of the intake guide 140 a.

The inlet of the exhaust guide 140 b may be formed on a bottom surfaceof the upper cover 140 to communicate with an inner space of the vortexfinder 122 located in the second cyclone 120. Referring to FIGS. 2 and3, the cover member 130 may include a communication hole 130 acorresponding to the vortex finder 122, and thus the inlet of theexhaust guide 140 b may communicate with the communication hole 130 a.

The inlet 140 b′ of the exhaust guide 140 b may be formed on both sidesof the intake guide 140 a forming a single passage. The outlet 140 b″ ofthe exhaust guide 140 b may communicate with the inlet 140 b′ of theexhaust guide 140 b formed on both sides of the intake guide 140 a.

Air discharged through the outlet 140 b″ of the exhaust guide 140 b maybe discharged directly to the outside or discharged to the outsidethrough the exhaust port of the cleaner body 10 as illustrated inFIG. 1. In the latter case, a porous prefilter configured to filterultrafine dust from the air may be installed on a passage extended fromthe outlet 140 b″ of the dust collector 100 to the exhaust port of thecleaner body 10.

As described above, when the intake guide 140 a is formed with a singleflow path, and the exhaust guide 140 b is formed using a vacant space ofthe intake guide 140 a, it may be possible to provide the upper cover140 having a secure suction efficiency. The upper cover 140 having theforegoing structure may be integrally formed by injection molding. Asillustrated in FIG. 17, the upper cover 140 may be injection molded bythree molds, which are assembled and separated in three directions, suchas an inlet side (M1) of the intake guide 140 a, an outlet side (M2) ofthe exhaust guide 140 b, and a bottom side (M3) of the upper cover 140.

Parting lines due to injection molding in the three directions may berespectively formed on the upper cover 140. Accordingly, it may bepossible to check how the upper cover 140 is manufactured (i.e., whetheror not the upper cover 140 is manufactured by injection molding in thesame manner as that of the present embodiment) based on the partingline. A problem in injection molding of the upper cover 140 depends onhow to form the intake guide 140 a and the exhaust guide 140 b. Inparticular, when each of the intake guide 140 a and the exhaust guide140 b is formed in three dimensions, a passage may be formed by at leasttwo molds, and the two molds must be able to meet with each other.

Referring to FIG. 20, the intake guide 140 a may be formed by two moldsassembled in two directions, such as the inlet side (M1) of the intakeguide 140 a and the bottom side (M3) of the upper cover 140. A region inwhich the two molds meet with each other is M13, and a parting line maybe formed in the region.

Moreover, the exhaust guide 140 b may be formed by two molds assembledin two directions, such as the outlet side (M2) of the exhaust guide 140b and the bottom side (M3) of the upper cover 140. A region in which thetwo molds meet with each other is M23 provided on both sides of theintake guide 140 a, and a parting line may be formed in the region. Inthis manner, the upper cover 140 formed with the intake guide 140 a andthe exhaust guide 140 b may be injection molded at one time using threemolds. Accordingly, it may be possible to increase the mass productionof the upper cover 140.

Hereinafter, a modified example of an upper cover 540 in which an intakeguide 540 a is configured with one inlet 540 a′ and two outlets 540 a1″, 540 a 2″ will be described. Similarly to the foregoing embodiment,the upper cover 540 of the present modified example may cover the covermember 130 at an upper side of the outer case 101. Accordingly, theupper cover 540 may cover both the first and second cyclones 110, 120.The upper cover 540 may form an upper appearance of the dust collector100.

Referring to FIGS. 22 to 26, the upper cover 540 may include an intakeguide 540 a and an exhaust guide 540 b forming passages separated fromeach other. The intake guide 540 a may form a passage to introduce airinto the outer case 101, and the exhaust guide 540 b may form a passageto discharge air from which foreign matter, dust and fine dust have beenseparated while passing through the first and second cyclones 110, 120.

The intake guide 540 a and the exhaust guide 540 b may include an inlet540 a′, 540 b′ and an outlet 540 a 1″, 540 a 2″/540 b″, respectively.According to the present drawing, the inlet 540 a′ of the intake guide540 a may have a shape that is open in a direction opposite to theoutlet 540 b″ of the exhaust guide 540 b.

The present modified example is different from the foregoing embodimentin that the intake guide 540 a may have one inlet 540 a′ and two outlets540 a 1″, 540 a 2″. The inlet 540 a′ of the intake guide 540 a may bedirectly connected to the connection unit 30 connected to the suctionunit 20 to suck air containing foreign matter, dust and fine dust. Thetwo outlets 540 a 1″, 540 a 2″ of the intake guide 540 a may be formedon a bottom surface of the upper cover 540 to communicate with anannular space between the outer case 101 and the first cyclone 110.

The intake guide 540 a may include a branch wall 540 a 3, and a firstand a second branch passages 540 a 1, 540 a 2. The branch wall 540 a 3may be formed at a position facing the inlet of the intake guide 540 a.Accordingly, air introduced through the inlet of the intake guide 540 amay collide with the branch wall 540 a 3 to be scattered to both sidesof the branch wall 540 a 3.

The branch wall 540 a 3 may be formed perpendicular to the inlet 540 a′of the intake guide 540 a. In this case, the air that has collided withthe branch wall 540 a 3 may be evenly distributed to the left and rightsides of the branch wall 540 a 3. However, in this case, due to a flowof air into the inlet 540 a ‘of the intake guide 540 a, foreign mattermay become attached to the branch wall 540 a 3 facing the inlet 540 a’to be stagnant.

In order to prevent this, as illustrated in the drawing, the branch wall540 a 3 may be formed to be angled with respect to the inlet 540 a′ ofthe intake guide 540 a. In other words, the branch wall 540 a 3 may beformed in a shape such that the left or right side thereof is angledcloser to the inlet. According to the above structure, it may beconfigured such that foreign matter is movable along the angled branchwall 540 a 3, thereby solving a foreign matter stagnation phenomenon ina structure in which the branch wall 540 a 3 is formed perpendicular tothe inlet 540 a′ of the intake guide 540 a.

The first and second branch passages 540 a 1, 540 a 2 may be provided atboth sides of the branch wall 540 a 3, and bent on at least part thereofand extended toward an inner circumference of the outer case 101 toperform a swirling movement in a spiral shape when air is introducedinto an annular space between the outer case 101 and the first cyclone110.

The first and second branch passages 540 a 1, 540 a 2 may extend inmutually the same rotational direction. In order to implement this,either one of the first and second branch passages 540 a 1, 540 a 2 mayform a passage toward a rear side of the branch wall 540 a 3 and theother one may form a passage toward a front side of the branch wall 540a 3.

The inlet 540 b′ of the exhaust guide 540 b is formed on a bottomsurface of the upper cover 540 to communicate with an inner space of thevortex finder 122 located in the second cyclone 120. As described above,when the communication hole 130 a corresponding to the vortex finder 122is formed on the cover member 130, the inlet 540 b′ of the exhaust guide540 b may communicate with the communication hole 130 a.

The outlet 540 b″ of the exhaust guide 540 b may communicate with theinlet 540 b′ of the exhaust guide 540 b. Air discharged through theoutlet 540 b″ of the exhaust guide 540 b may be directly discharged tothe outside, and discharged to the outside through an exhaust port ofthe cleaner body 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1. In the latter case, aporous prefilter configured to filter ultrafine dust from the air may beinstalled on a passage extended from the outlet of the dust collector100 to the exhaust port of the cleaner body 10.

Meanwhile, the above-described vacuum cleaner may be configured asfollows. The scraper may be configured to be brought into contact withthe mesh filter. The scraper may include a brush.

The scraper may be formed of an elastic material, and integrally coupledto the pillar formed of a synthetic resin material by double injectionmolding.

The scraper may be formed of the same synthetic resin material as thatof the pillar and integrally formed with the pillar by injectionmolding. A plurality of pillars may be spaced apart at preset intervalsalong an outer circumference of the first cyclone.

The rotating unit may further include a lower frame connected to a lowerend of the pillar and formed to surround a lower end of the firstcyclone; and an upper frame connected to an upper end of the pillar andformed to surround an upper end of the first cyclone. A skirt extendeddownward in an outward manner may protrude from the lower frame toprevent the scattering of dust collected in a dust storage section at alower portion of the rotating unit.

The lower frame may include a vane extending in a spiral shape along aflow direction of air introduced into the outer case to induce theinflow of dust and foreign matter filtered by the first cyclone. Abackflow limiting rib inclined in a direction intersecting the vane mayprotrude from an inner circumferential surface of the outer case facingthe vane such that foreign matter introduced into the vane is caughtwhile flowing backward in an upward direction by the rotation of therotating unit.

The dust collector for the vacuum cleaner may further include apressurizing unit configured to be rotatable in both directions in adust storage section to pressurize dust and foreign matter collectedinto the dust storage section formed below the rotating unit so as toreduce a volume thereof, and the rotating unit may be coupled to thepressurizing unit to rotate along with the pressurizing unit. Therotating unit and the pressurizing unit may respectively include a firstforeign matter roller portion and a second foreign matter roller portionconfigured with a plurality of ribs extended in respective radialdirections at preset intervals. The first foreign matter roller portionmay surround the second foreign matter roller portion. The first foreignmatter roller portion may be located above the second foreign matterroller portion.

A discharge port of the second cyclone may pass through a bottom surfaceof the first cyclone, and an inner case for accommodating the dischargeport may be provided at a lower portion of the first cyclone to form afine dust storage section for collecting fine dust discharged throughthe discharge port. The dust collector for the vacuum cleaner mayfurther include a lower cover hinge-coupled to the outer case to form abottom surface of a dust storage section and a fine dust storage sectionprovided at an outside and an inside of the inner case, respectively,and configured to open the dust storage section and the fine duststorage section at the same time when relatively rotating with respectto the outer case by the hinge.

A rotating portion surrounding the inner case and configured to berelatively rotatable with respect to the inner case may be extended at alower portion of the rotating unit, and the lower cover may include adriving force transmission unit having a fastening member configured toreceive a driving force from a drive unit provided in the cleaner bodyto rotate, and fastened to a fastening groove provided on an innercircumferential surface of the rotating portion; and a sealing unitmounted on the fastening member, and disposed to cover a lower openingof the inner case when the driving force transmission unit is fastenedto the fastening groove.

A dust collector for a vacuum cleaner may include a first cycloneprovided within an outer case, and provided with a housing on which aplurality of openings are formed along an outer circumference thereofand a mesh filter mounted on the housing to cover the openings; a secondcyclone configured to separate fine dust from air from which dust andforeign matter introduced into the first cyclone through the mesh filterare separated; and a rotating unit configured to be rotatable in atleast one direction with respect to the first cyclone, and provided witha scraper moved along an outer circumference of the first cyclone whilebeing in contact with the mesh filter during the rotation.

The dust collector for the vacuum cleaner may further include apressurizing unit configured to be rotatable in both directions in adust storage section to pressurize dust and foreign matter collectedinto the dust storage section formed below the rotating unit so as toreduce a volume thereof, and the rotating unit may be coupled to thepressurizing unit to rotate along with the pressurizing unit. At leastone of the rotating unit and the pressurizing unit may be provided witha foreign matter roller portion configured with a plurality of ribsextended in respective radial directions at preset intervals.

The second cyclone may be completely accommodated into the first cycloneto reduce a height of the dust collector. In this arrangement, a guidevane may be provided at an entrance port of the second cyclone to causerotational flow to the air introduced into the second cyclone, and thusa separate guide passage extended from one side of the second cyclonemay be not required, and as a result, it may be possible to arrange moresecond cyclones within the first cyclone. Therefore, even though thesecond cyclone is accommodated within the first cyclone, a number of thesecond cyclones may not be reduced when compared to the related art,thereby preventing the deterioration of the cleaning performance.

Foreign matter and dust filtered by the first cyclone may be guided by avane of the guide unit provided below the first cyclone, and introducedinto the first storage unit under the guide unit. Here, the vane may bespirally formed along a flow direction of the air flowing into the outercase, and at least part of one of vanes may be provided to overlap withanother vane in a vertical direction to limit a backflow of foreignmatter and dust.

The guide unit (or rotation unit) provided with a skirt at a lower sideof the first cyclone may be configured to be rotatable in at least onedirection, and thus even though foreign matter is caught in a gapbetween the skirt and the outer case, the foreign matter may be releasedby the rotation of the rotating unit. The foreign matter released fromthe gap may be introduced into the first storage section under the skirtby rotational flow due to the driving of the vacuum cleaner.

At least one of the guide unit (or rotating unit) and the pressurizingunit configured to be rotatable therewith may be provided with a rollerportion configured with ribs facing the lower cover, thereby inducingaggregation between foreign matter and dust. When the roller portion isprovided on each of the guide unit and the pressurizing unit, and eachroller portion is provided at a different height with respect to thelower cover, the roller portion corresponding to an accumulation heightof foreign object and dust may be used to induce aggregation betweenforeign matter and dust. Furthermore, the roller portion may be combinedwith the driving of the pressurizing unit to perform compression as wellas agglomeration between foreign matter and dust.

When the rotating unit rotates with respect to the first cyclone, ascraper provided on a pillar of the rotating unit may be configured tomove along the outer circumference of the first cyclone in contact witha mesh filter, and thus it may be possible to continuously removeforeign matter and dust caught and accumulated on the mesh filter whenthe vacuum cleaner is driven. Therefore, it may be possible to enhancethe performance and maintenance convenience of the dust collector.

An upper cover covering the first and second cyclones may be providedwith an intake guide and an exhaust guide, and a connection unit may bedirectly connected to an inlet of the intake guide. According to this, aflow guide provided in the cleaner body in a side inflow structure inthe related art may not be required to simplify a suction passage andincrease an area of the entrance port when compared to the side inflowstructure. Therefore, a pressure loss may be reduced to enhance suctionefficiency.

When an intake guide is formed with a single passage, and an exhaustguide is configured with an empty space of the intake guide, an uppercover with a suction efficiency may be provided. Furthermore, there isan advantage that an upper cover can be injection-molded at one time bythree molds assembled and separated in three directions at an inlet sideof the intake guide, an outlet side of the exhaust guide and a bottomside of the upper cover. Both the first storage section and the secondstorage section may be open when a lower cover is separated therefrom,it may be possible to discharge dust collected in the first storagesection and fine dust collected in the second storage section at thesame time.

This application relates to U.S. application Ser. No. 15/583,110(Attorney Docket No. P-1511), U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (AttorneyDocket No. P-1512), U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney DocketNo. P-1513), U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No.P-1514), and U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No.P-1516), all filed on May 1, 2017, which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety. Further, one of ordinary skill in the artwill recognize that features disclosed in these above-noted applicationsmay be combined in any combination with features disclosed herein.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vacuum cleaner, comprising: a cleaner body; anda dust collector provided in the cleaner body, wherein the dustcollector includes: a first cyclone provided by an inner case includinga mesh filter and an outer case to filter first foreign matter from airintroduced into the dust collector; a second cyclone having a pluralityof hollow bodies in the inner case to separate second foreign matterfrom the air filtered from the first cyclone; and a rotatable shellsurrounding part of the first cyclone, and configured to be rotatable inat least one direction with respect to the first cyclone to form a firststorage chamber, wherein the rotatable shell includes: a pillar thatspans a height of the mesh filter; and a scraper provided on an innersurface of the pillar facing an outer surface of the mesh filter, andconfigured to sweep off dust and foreign matter accumulated on the meshfilter during the rotation of the screw.
 2. The vacuum cleaner of claim1, wherein the scraper contacts the mesh filter.
 3. The vacuum cleanerof claim 1, wherein the scraper is a brush.
 4. The vacuum cleaner ofclaim 1, wherein the scraper is formed of an elastic material, and isintegrally coupled to the pillar formed of a synthetic resin material bydouble injection molding.
 5. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein thescraper is formed of the same synthetic resin material as that of thepillar and is integrally formed with the pillar by injection molding. 6.The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein a plurality of pillars are spacedapart at preset intervals along an outer circumference of the meshfilter.
 7. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the rotatable shellfurther includes: a lower frame connected to a lower end of the pillarand surrounding a lower end of the first cyclone; and an upper frameconnected to an upper end of the pillar and surrounding an upper end ofthe first cyclone.
 8. The vacuum cleaner of claim 7, wherein a skirtextends downward and outward from the lower frame to prevent thescattering of dust collected in a dust storage section at a lowerportion of the rotatable shell.
 9. The vacuum cleaner of claim 7,wherein the lower frame includes a vane extending in a spiral shapealong a flow direction of air introduced into the outer case to inducean inflow of dust and foreign matter filtered by the first cyclone. 10.The vacuum cleaner of claim 9, wherein a rib inclined in a directionopposite to the vane protrudes from an inner circumferential surface ofthe outer case facing the vane.
 11. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1,wherein the dust collector further includes a compactor configured to berotatable in first and second directions in a dust storage chamber tocompact first foreign matter collected into the dust storage chamberformed below the rotatable shell so as to reduce a volume thereof, andthe rotatable shell is coupled to the compactor to rotate along with thecompactor.
 12. The vacuum cleaner of claim 11, wherein the rotatableshell and the compactor respectively include a first cuff and a secondcuff, each configured with a plurality of ribs extended in respectiveradial directions at preset intervals.
 13. The vacuum cleaner of claim12, wherein the first cuff surrounds the second cuff.
 14. The vacuumcleaner of claim 13, wherein the first cuff is located above the secondcuff.
 15. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein a discharge port of thesecond cyclone passes through a bottom surface of the first cyclone, andthe inner case accommodating the discharge port is provided at a lowerportion of the first cyclone to form a second storage chamber to collectsecond foreign matter discharged through the discharge port.
 16. Thevacuum cleaner of claim 15, wherein the dust collector further includes:a lower cover hinge-coupled to the outer case to form a bottom surfaceof the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber provided atan outside and an inside of the inner case, respectively, and configuredto open the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber at thesame time when rotated with respect to the outer case by a hinge. 17.The vacuum cleaner of claim 16, wherein the compactor includes a shaftsurrounding the inner case and configured to be rotatable with respectto the inner case, and a blade extending from a lower portion of thecompactor, and wherein the lower cover includes a gearing having a firstgear configured to receive a driving force from a drive motor providedin the cleaner body, and engaged with a fastening groove provided on aninner circumferential surface of shaft to rotate the shaft; and a sealcap mounted on the first gear, and arranged to cover a lower opening ofthe inner case when the gearing is engaged with the fastening groove.18. A vacuum cleaner, comprising: a cleaner body; and a dust collectorprovided in the cleaner body, wherein the dust collector includes: afirst cyclone provided by an inner case and an outer case configured toseparate first foreign matter from air introduced into the dustcollector, and provided with a housing on which a plurality of openingsare formed along an outer circumference thereof and a mesh filtermounted on the housing to cover the openings; a second cyclone having aplurality of hollow bodies in the inner case configured to separatesecond foreign matter from air filtered from the first cyclone; and arotatable shell configured to be rotatable in at least one directionwith respect to the first cyclone, and including a scraper configured tomove along an outer circumference of the first cyclone while being incontact with the mesh filter during the rotation.
 19. The vacuum cleanerof claim 18, wherein the dust collector further includes a compactorconfigured to be rotatable in first and second directions in a firststorage chamber to compact first foreign matter collected into the firststorage chamber formed below the rotatable shell so as to reduce avolume thereof, and the rotatable shell is coupled to the compactor torotate along with the compactor.
 20. The vacuum cleaner of claim 19,wherein at least one of the rotatable shell and the compactor includes acuff extending from the compactor and including a plurality of ribsextending radially at preset intervals between the cuff and thecompactor.